"France's BBC reported that Taiwan donated eight billion euros (US$9.2 billion) so the vice president can go up and spout nonsense for 20 minutes," reads a Threads post written in traditional Chinese and shared November 9, 2025.
"Using it for cash handouts would surely be better than just standing there spouting empty words!"
The featured photo shows Hsiao speaking in the European Parliament, overlaid with Chinese text that reads: "Venue: rented by me; conference: sponsored by me; reputation: went to me; expenses: paid for by the people."
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The post surfaced after Hsiao travelled to Brussels to address the summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an organisation composed of lawmakers from various countries.
Taiwan's Central News Agency called the address "historic", saying Hsiao was the first Taiwanese vice president to deliver a speech in a European parliament while in office (archived link).
During her speech, she urged Europe to boost security and trade ties with the self-ruled island and support its democracy in the face of growing threats from China (archived link).
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The Chinese mission to the European Union slammed IPAC for letting Hsiao take the stage, saying in a statement on November 8 that her appearance "seriously erodes the political mutual trust" between Beijing and the bloc (archived link).
The claim that Taiwan donated billions to IPAC was also shared on Facebook, with some social media users criticising the Taiwanese government for supposedly wasting public funds.
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Taiwanese authorities and IPAC separately dismissed the posts, which were earlier debunked by news organisations Taiwan FactCheck Center and MyGoPen (archived here and here).
"This is a malicious rumour and has been handed over to the police for investigation in accordance with the law," Taiwan's presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo wrote on her Threads account on November 10 (archived link).
"The IPAC invitation was relayed through our foreign mission, and the vice president attended upon invitation."
Two men are under investigation for spreading the claims (archived link).
Taiwan's representative office in France has similarly refuted the allegation in a statement shared on Facebook on November 9 (archived link).
"We appreciate everyone's confidence in Taiwan's financial strength, but the imagination is higher than the Eiffel Tower," the office said, reminding people to fact-check before sharing posts on social media.
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